Comprehensive Approach Needed To Deal With Wildlife Trafficking Issues - Foreign Minister

KOTA KINABALU (Sabah, Malaysia), March 30 (Bernama) -- A comprehensive approach is needed to effectively deal with wildlife trafficking crimes in the ASEAN region, said Foreign Minister Anifah Aman. He said these approaches in combating the crime included the aspects of capacity-building, demand reduction and enforcement. "We already have in place a host of agreements, declarations and action plans to provide the framework of cooperation for this region. ASEAN through the ASEAN Wildlife and Enforcement Network or ASEAN WEN must step up its role to promote the capacity of it members to combat wildlife trafficking. "Towards this end, we welcome the continued support given by ASEAN's external partners for ASEAN Community building efforts as well as to ASEAN centrality through the process," he said when opening the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Workshop On Combating Wildlife Trafficking here Monday. The three-day workshop, co-chaired by the government of the United States of America and Malaysia is the first of its kind under the framework of the ARF. It is to provide sustained momentum from a strong political support towards collective efforts in combating wildlife trafficking more effectively. Anifah also called all the ARF participating countries in particular ASEAN member states to strengthen its national efforts to combat wildlife trafficking with the collaboration of extenal partners. He said it was the responsibility of all parties to ensure that 'hard' approaches to combat wildlife trafficking such as enforcement and monitoring be calibrated with 'soft' approaches, which focuses on awareness and education. The soft approaches, however, he said must not rest on the shoulders of government officials and experts alone because the responsibility should be shared by every strata of society where all parties must play their own unique role to mitigate demand for wildlife products by raising community awareness on the issue. "This is the very essence of the concept of people-centred ASEAN that Malaysia is advocating during its chairmanship of Asean this year. An ASEAN Community, which is people-centred, will be a sharper instrument for the realisation of our people's dream with effective governance, better standard of living and strengthened enviromental protection," he added. -- BERNAMA